Alexandria residents clapped, cheered, and even read impassioned pleas from youngsters on Saturday to urge that proposed construction off of Interstate 395 not damage the city’s Winkler Botanical Preserve.
The proposals in question are ramp options that would provide direct access from I-395 to the Mark Center site off of Seminary Road. The site is set to house 6,400 Defense Department employees transferring there under the federal government’s Base Realignment And Closure plan.
BRAC has mandated the relocation of thousands of military employees nationwide by September 2011.
John Perlman read several messages from Mount Vernon community school students pleading for protection of the preserve.
“When I get to my classroom, I might hear my teacher say, ‘sorry kids, but the government cut down Winkler, so instead of a field trip, you’re going to have to take a math test,'” he read.
“Can you please save Winkler because it is fantastic, and if you put a road through Winkler, I will cry,” he read from another.
“I feel like I should just disclose that one of these letters is from my daughter,” said councilman Rob Krupicka, laughing.
Former vice mayor Andrew Macdonald later delivered a more sobering address, blasting the decision to locate the project at the Mark Center in the first place. The Victory Center site on Eisenhower Avenue had also been in contention.
“This is a result of very bad planning,” he said. “There should be no building here that needs a road. The building should have been near a metro; I don’t know why BRAC or anybody else agreed with this.”
“It’s really a disgrace,” he added. “Let’s make haste to protect this preserve.”
The preserve is just one grievance that the city has had with the proposed project.
Another sticking point is a proposed on-site building that would inspect vehicles for potentially hazardous or explosive materials. Residents have also expressed concern about the anticipated crush of traffic when the facility becomes operational.
